Some photos are worth a thousand blooms

Mar. 13, 2014

Oconee Bells are beginning to bloom in the Upstate. / File

Written by

Charles Sowell

Contributing

The best places to see spring ephemerals at on the Nature Conservancy side of the Nine Times Tract, off Highway 11 and at Devil’s Fork State Park at Lake Jocassee. Turn onto Eastatoe Creek Road off Highway 11 and the turn at the sign for Lake Jocassee for Devil’s Fork State Park.

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It starts with trout lilies and then transitions to Oconee Bells; the nature photographers come out in droves for the first sign of springtime in the mountains, the wildflowers or spring ephemerals.

This year is particularly special, coming on the heels of one of the hardest winters in years and folks like Bobby Holliday, 63, an Easley music producer best known for his work on “Crown of the Carolinas” DVD and for his work with Patrick McMillian’s Expeditions theme and the music for the Clemson radio program “Your Day.”

On days like last Sunday, sunny and warm, you’ll find Holliday hard at work having fun with his new Canon with a macro lens — getting photos up close and great detail —– of trout lilie, Oconee Bells and more.

Dennis Chastain schedules his wildflower tours to coincide with this time of year and has an Oconee Bell tour set for March 15. That one is full of Upstate Forever staffers and their families, but there will be more in the brief blooming season – usually lasting from March 15 through April 15.

Devil’s Fork State Park will play host to this year’s BellFest event, also set for March 15 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The event, in its second year, is sponsored by the Friends of Jocassee non-profit and will give tour takers a chance to see the park’s many colonies of Bells. For more information, contact Patricia Whitener at 864-650-0991, or see their website at http://friendsof